"San Juan Del Sur / Granada (2)" Nicaragua Travelogue by paradisedreamer

Our transport to Moyogalpa arrived at exactly 7:30am. It was alovely drive with the cloud over the top of Volcan Concepcion. It was nice just observing village life along the way.
There was no ferry when we got to the port, just a small boat with all the engine parts strewn over the pier. I had to laugh, I told Marc ‘No way Jose! Noay am I getting on that thing even of they do manage to put the engine back together, it was one big rust bucket. Someone was seriously testing my sense of humor! Luckily a ferry soon arrived, there was no balancing on precarious gangplanks, we just walked up the car ramp and we were off. As we approached San Jorge the ferry turned around, and now? It turned out that there were some fishermen whose boat was sinking and they werfe clinging to the side. The swells were nothing like as big as the day we came to the island, if they had they would not have lasted very long in the waster at all. As it was the swells were still relatively big for a small boat like that, how they were spotted I don’t know because one minute you could see them and the next they were gone as the waves swelled between them and the ferry. A rope was thrown to them and they managed to drag the men and the boat onto the lowered car deck. There were big white smiles all round!

Hector was waiting for us when we docked, he told us it was the second time that these fishermen had to be rescued. He had a car parked on the pier for us – talk about service! We organised a taxi back from San Juan to Granada with his driver Freddie.

When we got to San Juan del Sur we had to got to a few hotels before we found a decent one, most of then are very shabby and dark. The ine we did find was fne but had a very strange staircase that you almost had to crawl up as there is hardly any headroom, as well as the last three stairs being double the height of normal stais, very weird.

We walked down to the beahc and by this time we all had the grumps, it was not quite as we had expected. It is anice enough beach, a bit stony, but derserted. I was expecting more tourists here they all seemed to be hiding in intgernet cafes. Its not really a beach you want to spend all day on as there is no shade. We decided we would try and go back to Granada tomorrow. At least at Hostal Oasis we have a pool, its very social besides the fact that I would love to spend more time in Granada. I would love to buy a colonial house here and live here a few months of the year, we can dream can’t we…

As I made my way down the funny staircase Freddie our driver was waiting for us. I was really surprised because we ended up staying at a different hotel to the one that he had dropped us off at. We were going to just walk down there to meet him. Talk about service!
I felt a bit guilty not having really given San Juan a chance but why sit there just for the sake of being there when we could be in Granada. The taxi back to Granada was $30 and took about 1.5 hours or so.

It’s a nice drive from the south with volcanoes and the lake to your right and farms to the left. One thing I have not mentioned are the radio stations here. Everything is stuck back in the seventies and eighties, nothing like hurtling toward Granada with ‘Hotel California’ blaring from the radio. Gotta love it!

Being back in Granada is like coming home , we even have the same room at the hostel. You could live here – free internet, free calls to the US and Canada, free coffee, free ice (the water is fine here). Laundry service, book exchange, DVD rental, swimming pool and great people. Most evenings people buy some rum (Flor de Cana is the best) and limes and sit by the pool drinking and just ‘aving a laff! You can help yourself to cooldrinks anytime from the fridge and just write your room no and what you took on the clipboard.

We went out for an early dinner as we had not eaten all day only to find that most restaurants only open at 6pm. We ended up walked past the artists workshop again (I mentioned it before) and this time we found the entrance. They have some really good paintings and you can watch the artists at work.
We ended up at Tele pizza which was open. A good tip is to order more food than you are going to get and then get a doggy bag. On your way back to your hotel you are bound to pass some street kids who would really appreciate it. When we came out the restaurant some girls came bounding up to us to sell cashew nuts. I asked her if she wanted pizza and her beautiful brown eyes lit up and she gave me a big hug and ran off to her friends. Boy was that hug worth it, but even if she had just scarpered its still worth it. I looked back to see the three of them sitting on the pavement eating their dinner, funny enough there were exactly three pices of pizza left over. I am not sure of the statistics but a huge proportion of children live under the povery line and most are malnourished. So be generous a few dollars is nothing to any traveller no matter how tight your budget. I prefer not to give money but rather food or drinks. One day Sam did not finish her fanta and we gave it to a little boy and he was so appreciative, they may be leftovers to us but they are treats for these kids.

We had a fantastic conversation with Sam over dinner. One of things I really wanted to get out of this trip was for Sam to become aware of how lucky she is and that not all kids have what she has. Last night it all fell into place for her. We talked about why some kids don’t go to school and sell things in the park instead, why kids sleep on the pavement, have torn dirty clothes etc. She managed to pull together all the things we have said and figure it all out. At first she kept asking why these kids weren’t with their parents because she isn’t allowed to walk around the streets on her own, she was a little envious of their freedom to do what they wanted and now she realizes that she is so lucky. She was a little sad about it then brightened up and remembered us giving all the things we weren’t going to ship home to charity. She told me ‘It’s ok Mummy because we can help them can’t we?’ Sometimes I feel we never do enough….

Later on Sam asked me 'Mummy why did that girl hug you?' I did not answer but rather let her think about it 'Oh I know why, because she was so happy to have dinner so I have to be a good girl and eat my dinner all up because I am so lucky'. Bless her!!

Last night Sam’s sandals broke so we went to buy her new ones. There is a Bata shop on the corner down the road from our hostel. She chose some red sandals, what is it with little girls and red shoes? She was as proud as punch as she strutted her stuff through Parc Central. Don Luca's was not open when we got there so we went to the Zoom bar for a drink before dinner. Zoom bar is also a bit of a club later on, while we were there ¨Blue Bayou¨ was playing, it is very mellow in the early evening. As we were sitting there the most gorgeous little boy came up to sell us some cookies, he had the most amazing eyes with long eyelashes. A lot of the kids a bit older than Sam love to touch her blonde hair and this little boy kissed the top of her head. All the kids here tend to sell cashew nuts or these strange cookies, we were soon the owners of more cookies!

When we got back to the hostel after dinner Sam made friends with some Dutch girls (her adult friends!) while we were chatting to a Swiss guy. They couldn’t believe she was only 4, she was chatting away telling them about all the places she has been and asking them where they had been. She’s not my baby any more 

We have not been doing much the last few days but today we decided ot get some things done. I had to find the post office to get some stamps to send off a check to the dear tax man (he can get you anywhere). Anyway one thing about Granada is that nothing is where the map says it is!! We met some other travelers and asked them and they were also in search of the post office so we joined forces and eventually found it.

We had lunch at El Club which is a small hotel but they also have a restaurant in the courtyard, we had some really nice sandwiches and enjoyed the cooling fan above. It was very humid today and Mombacho was covered in cloud. We then went to the bank to draw yet more money!! Oh boy we can moan about it later! We managed to book the hostel in Mexico City, they should pick us up from the airport and then take us to Teotihuacan the next day and then we can get away from the big bad city. By then we were feeling lazy so we got a horse cart to take us to the bearded monkey to book a trip to the monkey hut for Monday. The Bearded Monkey or just ‘the monkey’ is another hostel in Granada and they own the monkey hut on Lago di Apoyo which is a crater lake you can swim in. If you are on a tight budget you can sleep in a hammock there for $1.50!
Once we were back ‘home’ Sam chatted to her new Dutch friends, Marc passed out in a hammock and I played on the internet. Such a busy day lol!

We ended up having dinner at El Club as well, even though it is aSpanish colonial building the decor is indonesian and it looks fantastic, the bar is lovely at night. It looks very smart but aCubra Libre is only C$15, just under a dollar. I had excellent Chicken Satay for dinner, we'll definitely go back again.

Before breakfast Sam got the Dutch girls to promise to go swimming with her later. I don't think they expected a 4 year old to be calling the shots and organising their day for them!

We decide to go down to the Mercado (market) to really see Nicaraguan life. It is just down the road form the hotel and you can definitely hear it before you get there, there are enormous speakers on the road belting out loud music. Kind of makes you want to do the dance walk! As you go down the street you jossle with shoppers, cars, bicycles and horses for space whilst dodging the stalls that spill out onto the road. We then went into the market. At first the stalls were mainly selling rice, beans and grains from huge hessian sacks and then we got to the fruit and vegetable section which is nice nad brightly coloured. Soon your olifactory senses are assaulted by the stench of unrefrigerated meat. I love my meat but it does smell awful and looks even worse with entrails spilling over the tables. The fish section looks better but smells much worse. Despite the smells I love observing the people going about their daily business. I saw a woman who must have been at least 90 if not 100 with a huge toothless smile packing small fish into a bag.
One thing I find strange here is that when you buy a cooldrink they empty it out the bottle and into a clear plastic bag with a straw, this is obvbiously so they can redeem the bottles. You don’t see many canned drinks. On that note I think we need to petition Coca Cola into marketing Fresca worldwide. Fresca is a carbonated grapefruit drink which is so refreshing, I normally never drink fizzy drinks and can’t stand grapefruit but I am addicted to Fresca.

We had lunch at Redfords, Sam has had a bit of a tummy bug so we are watching her carefully. We share everything so that I am eating exactly the same thing, we can’t figure out what it is from. She doesn’t feel ill but has just be throwing up after dinner the last few nights, hopefully it will pass soon.

We walked down to Kathy's waffle house for breakfast. It is very popular with tourists and Nicas and was packed when we got there. Instead of waitging aorund we walked down to Oro travel on Calle Corrales and booked our transfer to Managua for Tuesday. We will stay in Managua for one night as our flight is first thing in the morning. We are staying at the Best Western which is literally across the road from the airport, expensive but easy peasy.

We waited in the lounge at the waffle house until they had a table for us. they have a very extensive menu so you can basically have anything you want. Sam is into her bagels and cream cheese so she was happy.

When we came out it had ben raining. Rain in Granada? Its the first time we have seeen rain since Selva Negra. We didn't achieve anything the rest of the day besides doing good imitations of vegetables.

We went down to the Bearded Monkey around 10am and loaded up in the pick-up to go to the Monkey Hut at Laguno de Apoyo. It was standing room only in the back but there are railings to hold on to, making it a fun ride. It is about a 20 minure drive out of Granada, a little way off the main road you see the awesome view of the crater lake before you begin descending to the bottom.
The Monkey Hut is a big wooden house owned by the hostel, they take people out there Mon, Wed and Fri for a dollar each way and $4 entry. You can go there by taxi as on other days but it is worth checking as sometimes the owners close it so they can use it privately. You can also stay over there in small dorms or double rooms, the rates were very reasonable ($20 for a double). You need to take your own food, there is a kitchen and a BBQ, you can buy some snacks and drinks there though.
The house has a huge deck out front with hammocks and tables overlooking the terraced garden leading down a steep slope to the lake. It is a beautiful place!!
You can use the kayaks and inner tubes, there is also a basketball court, plenty of board games as well as a trampoline to keep you entertained.

Sam first had a go on the trampoline and then we went down to the water and swam. The water is nice and warm but not too warm that it isn’t refreshing, well it is a volcanic crater so you would expect a little heat! We got some inner tubes and had a good time flipping each other over! We lay in the sun and swam all day only later on did I take Sam up to the house and we played some cards. We dutifully covered Sam in factor 60 and put no sun cream on ourselves, so I am rather sunburnt with a very pink nose and a slight cased of sunstroke! That’ll teach me!

We left the Monkey Hut at about 5pm to get back to Granada before dark. On the way back we looked up into the trees along the road and saw some howler monkeys. The view of the sun setting over Volcan Momacho in the distance was stunning. I really enjoyed riding through the villages with all the kids waving to the crazy gringos in the pick up. One little boy shouted out ‘I love you!'

We were all very tired when we got back, too much sun, too much swimming ...so we decided to order pizza to be delivered to the hostel. We also had to pack, it only takes 5 minutes but its work!

For the first time this trip I am really sad to be leaving a place, usually I have been so excited about seeing the next destination but I will miss Granada. I know I will probably never come back again as I have a philosophy of never visiting the same place twice, there are just too many places to see. Maybe when I have done it all I can start repeating but I doubt I would have ‘done it all’ in this lifetime!